Yesterday, I received my first ever “Ditch Digger” certificate at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for a newly constructed two-sided bench that is made almost entirely out of cob, doubles as a kid cave, looks like a rocket ship and redefines the image of the “love seat.” This was just one slice of the entertainment at this year’s harvest festival/garden party at Songaia. Other activities included a goat show, personal pizzas made in the cob oven, and a questionable attempt at blackberry mojitos. From a newcomer’s perspective, I’d say this year’s garden party was a huge success. It also might have been the most Songaians I’ve seen so far in one place. By now, Max and I have gotten to know the community pretty well, or at least had a chance to meet everyone at some point if not eat breakfast at their house. We’ve also gotten to know the garden pretty well, at least enough to identify some things here or there and not get lost. It was nice, however, to finally combine it all, to not just get the community together in one space, but to bring it all together in the garden. That’s not to say the two are ever really separable. Even if you’re not hanging out in the garden most days, you’re most likely eating from it at some point, and it would be extremely difficult for someone to overlook the pounds and pounds of produce that nobody really know what to do with. Still, something felt particularly important about taking time to recognize just how impressive the harvest from the garden has been, and how many people it has been able to feed. As Katie likes to put it, “abundance.” | Yesterday’s celebration was also a reminder that this is probably not your typical “wwoofing” experience. Just from the little research I did before stumbling upon Songaia, most farms seeking interns seem to be just a single family of four or five individuals, not forty-five (or so), and I don’t imagine many other wwoofers get to participate in Monday evening sing-alongs. As my fellow garden slave hinted at in his blog post, it did not take long for us to realize that we really lucked out in finding this place. Just the experience of working in the garden, learning about permaculture and getting to spend all this time outside would have been enough to know that coming here was a great decision. But to have on top of that the opportunity to hang out with so many new and interesting people has really made this experience particularly special, and leaves no doubt that we are in the right place... Looking forward to another month. |
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While driving across the country with Adam from New York to Bothell Washington, I really never had any remote idea what to expect. Our only previous view of Songaia besides their website was this YouTube clip Adam found:
The only thing I think on par to the production of the garden is how much Adam and I have learned. I came here without any garden experience, and while I will leave here far from an expert (very, very far in fact) I really have got to see and learn quite a bit. From how to tell the difference between what is a weed or plant, to the horrors of hot composting, to playing with baby goats, this summer has been absolutely filled with new experiences that I never thought I would have, yet am so thrilled that it has all happened While I know most likely I have no real future career in gardening, there is just something that cannot be beat about spending the days outside in this beautiful Seattle summer, working with your hands and being able to actually taste your work. This summer has most certainly been one of the most unique experiences of my life, and despite all the uncertainty we had on route here, I couldn’t have asked for it to turn out any better.
It’s all so glorious, and since the summer has burst forth with sunshine what else is there to do but soak up the rays and get our gardening and cobbing on!
Finally, per request, I’ve managed to snap a few photos of the residents who are out and about. Enjoy!
The 'tall tunnel' As a new garden intern for the summer, I’m working in garden luxury. In just the last three weeks I’ve learned lots, and I am well on my way to becoming a great organic gardener. Myself, along with the other Biogaians who tend to the garden at Songaia, have cleared out tons of weeds including the obnoxious comfry in order to get ready to grow some great greens. A newly mulched tree. After weeding we have planted various vegetables including spinach, lettuce, carrots, potatoes, peas, and tomatoes. Too bad the rabbits love the peas and the slugs love the lettuce, because competition is fierce. Ha ha. While it’s great to have the seeds or transplants in the ground, they still need to be tended so we surround them with mulch and soaker hoses. The trees are spoiled too, and for their mulching pleasure we put down cardboard or newspaper to stop the grass and weeds, after which we apply more mulch (photo- tree with mulch) . With the summer just getting started soon, we’ve got so much work to do, but there is always time for a fresh snack! Kim Ellsworth - Songaia Garden Intern |
AuthorThe blog posters are members of the Songaia Garden team. Archives
October 2012
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